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'I just knew that I had to get him out': Wasim Akram opens up on his equation with Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara & others
Wasim Akram was asked to name a player he felt would be a match for him, but the former Pakistan captain instead spoke about how he took it up as a challenge to bowl against some of the greats of the game.
The great Wasim Akram had his share of intriguing battles throughout his career. Right from the early 1980s, when the former pacer made his debut, till the end of the 2003 World Cup, Wasim Akram remained at the top of his game, troubling the best batsmen in business. The fact that he is the only bowler with 500 ODI wickets is a testament to the quality he brought to the table. Heck. Even today, the yardstick every left-arm quick is measured against is Akram.
Akram made a career out of winning matches for Pakistan and captaining the team and his battles with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting is the stuff of legends. From being rivals to competitors off the field to today being on friendly terms whenever they meet on broadcast duties of ICC events or more, Akram threw light on the bind he shares with some of the legends of the game.
"World-wide I have remained friends with a lot of players. When I go to Australia, Shane Warne lives near my place so I meet him often. I have maintained touch with Brian Lara over the phone. I recently wished Sachin Tendulkar. So, we get in touch," Wasim Akram said on the Khelo Aazadi Se Show on BSports Pakistan YouTube Channel.
"When we meet, we greet each other properly and recall the old times, old tales, the battles we had. And we all have a good laugh. We all have had some fabulous moments together. Sachin, Brian Lara, myself, Jacques Kallis, Inzamam from Pakistan, Saeed Anwar. I'm in touch with these players."
Akram was asked to name a player he felt would be a match for him, but the former Pakistan captain instead spoke about how he took it up as a challenge to bowl against some of the greats of the game. "Have played against some greats – in the late 1980s, 90s and then 2000s. Sachin, Lara, Sunil Gavaskar, Allan Border, Viv Richards, Ricky Ponting. As a bowler, I never thought about anything negative about them that he would hit me or attack me," Akram added.
"I just knew that we had to get him out. My mantra was to keep attacking the top players of the world, keep pressure on him. If you put pressure on the captain or the main player, the entire team could crumble so that used to be my plan."
